Campus Security has doubled the number of Campus Blue Phones to 40, placing them in strategic locations across campus. We are also installing cameras at the bus loop on University Boulevard, and installing wall-mounted Blue Phones and cameras in the parkades.

In advance of installing these cameras, the university approved Policy 118 (Safety and Security Cameras) to ensure that cameras are used in a way that respects and safeguards personal privacy. More information on this policy is available at: http://cameras.ubc.ca.

If you are a manager of staff whose work is not computer-based, please print this email and display it in a common work area for them to review.

I am pleased to provide a further update on the Presidential search process.

Following publication of the position profile for the 15th President and Vice-Chancellor of UBC (http://bog.ubc.ca/?page_id=11433), our consultant Perrett Laver has contacted potential candidates and, as expected, there is significant interest in the position from a large group of highly qualified individuals.

The search committee met last week to review the longlist of potential candidates who have either proactively shown interest or have been contacted by the search firm and similarly shown active interest. I am delighted to say that the committee, after much discussion and deliberation, has constructed a final list of 16 names representing a strong and diverse pool of candidates.

At its next meeting in April, the search committee will finalize the shortlist of candidates in preparation for interviews in late April and May, with the objective of reaching a decision for recommendation to the UBC Board of Governors. We remain on track to announce our new President by June 30.

There is one recent change in committee membership. Dr. Jennifer Berdahl has resigned from the committee and will be replaced by another UBC Vancouver faculty representative to be announced shortly. I thank Dr. Berdahl for her contributions to the committee over the past few months.

On behalf of the search committee, I would like to thank the UBC community for its ongoing support of the search process and I encourage you to continue to submit your comments in confidence to the search committee by email to president.search@ubc.ca or online: http://bog.ubc.ca/?page_id=10215

UBC is committed to a proactive approach to the preservation and advancement of academic freedom. The university is seeking to appoint a Senior Advisor on academic freedom to lead a system-wide conversation concerning the scope of academic freedom, and to develop materials to educate the university community concerning the need to support and protect academic freedom.

Composition of the advisory committee and the call for applications may be found on the Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic website.

If you are a manager of staff whose work is not computer-based, please print this email and display it in a common work area for them to review.

With the 2016/17 UBC Vancouver budget process well underway, we would like to provide an update of progress to date, as well as the path forward.

In recent months, there have been discussions at various levels of the university around the 2016/17 budget. This included a two-day workshop at which the Executive and Vancouver Deans came together to review the challenges, opportunities and budget position of each of the Faculties and administrative units.

As part of the process, a large number of proposals were submitted, and these are being evaluated for possible funding next year. The proposals are being considered in a number of forums, including the Senate Budget Committee, the Executive, the Board of Governors and the Council of Deans (which established a sub-committee to review detailed proposals).

The final budget proposal will be presented to the Board of Governors for approval in April. In advance of the board meeting, we would like to share some key elements of UBC’s financial position.

Although UBC continues to operate in a constrained funding environment, we are in a more favourable position than last year. The Province of BC (although still to provide UBC with formal budget notification) is unlikely to make further cuts to the operating grants of the universities, and will provide assistance for mandated salary increases. Unfortunately, this still means that any inflation costs (including cost pressures arising from the fall in the Canadian dollar and non-mandated salary increases) have to be either absorbed or covered by other sources of revenue growth.

Growth in revenue from domestic tuition is capped within the government’s fee regulations, limiting any increase to 2%.

International tuition rates, for new-to-UBC first-year students, are increasing (up to 15%) as a result of a review of UBC rates compared to peer universities. This will provide some discretionary resources to meet a number of cost pressures, as well as establishing an Academic Excellence Fund, focused on strategic initiatives to support excellence in research, teaching and the student learning experience. The Provost’s Office is working with the offices of the Vice-President, Students and Vice-President, Research and International, to determine allocations from the Academic Excellence Fund.

The Province has provided additional funding for routine capital expenditure (including deferred maintenance) in 2015/16 and has indicated support for further enhancements to this funding over the next three years. If approved, this will enable an important improvement in the underlying condition of many of the university’s buildings and operations.

Many central administrative units absorbed significant budget reductions in the last year, and most of these flow into 2016/17. As part of an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement, UBC will continue to review its operating and administrative processes and systems. This includes considering a benchmarking programme that will assist us in better understanding the effectiveness and efficiency of many current functions and operations.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have taken part in this year’s budget process, as well as those who have implemented cost reductions in the last year. We will provide further updates over the coming months. Further information about UBC’s financial reporting can be found athttp://vpfinance.ubc.ca/reporting/.